1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cabling machine, more particularly to laying optofibers, cables or the like in an oscillating wavy path around a smooth pull-reliever, or down into grooves of oscillating waveshape that have been extruded around a pull-reliever, as in so-called S/Z-cabling.
2. Description of Related Art
Cabling machines for laying optofibers or the like in an oscillating, wavy path around a smooth pull-reliever are known to the art. These cabling machines include an S/Z-bench which includes a laying-on tube or discs which are oscillated backwards and forwards for the purpose of laying the fibers on the pull-reliever. The fibers, which pass along the laying-on tube to a laying-on head located on the forward end of said tube, become wound to a greater or lesser extent around the laying-on tube during operation of the machine, which causes the fibers to be subjected to friction forces. These frictional forces will vary in accordance with the rotational movement of the laying-on tube at that particular moment in time, and when the fibers are wound to a great extent on the tube, the frictional forces can be so high as to damage the fibers.
Also known to the art are cabling machines which are intended to lay optofibers or the like in grooves of oscillating waveform extruded around a pull-reliever. These machines also include an S/Z-bench provided with a laying-on tube or discs over which the fibers pass to a laying-on head. The pull-reliever is pulled rectilinearly through the laying-on tube and, because of the oscillating form of the grooves, the tube tends to rotate forwards and backwards as a result of the fibers being guided down into the grooves. This rotational movement or twisting of the laying-on tube will also cause fibers to be wound around the tube and subjected to frictional forces that are liable to damage the fibers, similar to the former case.
Thus, the known cabling machines have the disadvantage of subjecting fibers to large frictional forces with subsequent risk of damage to the fibers. Furthermore, the known machines are intended for laying fibers in an oscillating waveform, i.e. S/Z-cabling, solely on one type of pull-reliever, namely either on a smooth pull-reliever or on a pull-reliever on which grooves have been pre-extruded.